Drive to Agra and the Taj Mahal at Sunset

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We met our driver promptly for the drive to Agra which is about 233k. First we had to fight our way through the traffic in the southern part of New Delhi and I think we sneaked around the side of old Delhi before encountering the urban area of Noida. In Delhi we could see that the sky was blue, which was a surprise and I think an improvement over when I was there last, but as we drive south the haze got heavier and the roads remained congested until we were out in the country. This is an agricultural area growing rice, sugar cane, mangoes and other crops. It is extensively irrigated and very orderly looking after the chaos of the cities. We stopped for lunch at a wayside restaurant where Dave was unwise enough to have a gelato while Tamara confined herself to Masala Chai, but was not suffiently with it to alert Dave to the risks. We reached Agra in the early afternoon and had lunch at a pleasant tourist type restaurant. They make wonderful vegetable samosas in India. Agra is of course the gateway to the Taj Mahal but it is extremey scruffy, dirty and full of animals. In Delhi we saw only two urban cows, a few monkeys and a couple of dogs, and there are lots of trees including huge neem and peepul trees and plenty of garden space where monkeys might live.





We went to our hotel which was excellent, and Tamara’s favourite in India. After a rest we went to see the Taj Mahal at sunset. To do this you first drive through a terrible slum which our driver said is where the untouchables live. Then you reach the gardens behind the Taj Mahal and we decided to go in; you are free to wander around without a guide. These gardens are large, formal, beautifully laid out and well maintained. You walk across them to an area where there must have been buildings previously and where you look straight across the river to the back of the Taj Mahal which means Crown of the Palace. Because it is built with perfect symmetry the back is as beautiful as the front and it looked stunning in the evening light. Dave took photos and we wandered back through the gardens a different way where we met a German couple and the man was most surprised that Tamara could speak German.







Back at the hotel we met Manish Jain who was the person Dave had dealt with when arranging the tour, which we were very happy with. After a good dinner we had an early night to be ready at 6 am the next morning to visit the Taj Mahal itself.

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